Gamera vs. Viras Talkback

[Silver Kamen]

Like the others, I first saw this on Television, and even then, I disliked it compared to the other Gamera films in the series. Something in this film is just missing, I'm not sure what it is. However, I just saw this yesterday on the Japanese Blu-ray, and the film has grown on me. It's still not anywhere near as good as the other films, but it is fun.

[The Real McCoy]

I always find it funny that I find the least popular Gamera movies to be the most enjoyable. I love this movie, in all its nonsensical stupidity.

[eabaker]

[jellydonut25]

This movie blows. The stock footage usage is just ludicrous.

People slam the Godzilla series for it, but at least they ATTEMPT to display it in ways that are creative and work in the narrative of the film.
Here, we have the alien saying "Let's see what Gamera did in the past" and then just watching it. UGH.

Maybe I'm just kaiju'd out...maybe after 3 months of kaijuing it up and doing commentaries, reviews, etc I'm just burned out...but I wasn't much enjoying this thing.

[EricDent]

There were other times in the movie where it was obviously stock footage.
Like him attacking the airport, dam, and even fuel depot.

I watched the movie yesterday via the Mill Creek Blu-Ray and it was kinda fun.
Must say I do wish we had cute Girl Scouts hanging around when I was in Boy Scouts...especially that one with twin-tails...

[Gwangi]

Happy 50th, "Gamera vs. Viras" or as my preferred title, "Destroy All Planets". Debuted March 20th, 1968 (11 days before I was born). If I could, I think I will watch this on my B-day, to celebrate both of our 50th!

[lhb412]

^ Congrats on the big five oh!

The closest kaiju movie release to my day of birth was... *checks notes*... Godzilla vs. Biollante! Over a year later, though. *checks more notes* Kamen Rider Black was airing at the time of my birth. That's something.

[Specium Ray]

Huh, I get Dinosaur War Izenborg... not bad!

[O.Supreme]

Terror of Mechagodzilla came out 11 months before I was born, and DeLaurentis King Kong (1976) 10 months after......

I never saw G vs Viras on TV, but was so glad to get a VHS boot of Destroy All Planets in the mid 90's. Of course I have the S!F DVD and Mill Creek BRD, but I'm glad this was one of the few spared and was not corrupted by Sandy Frank.

[eabaker]

Godzilla - King of the Monsters got its U.S. release 23 years to the day before I was born.

On topic for the thread, Viras probably ranks third for me among the Showa Gamera flicks, following Jiger and Guiron. Basically, I like my Showa Gamera stories to be as bizarre as possible, I guess. If you just completely tune out the mid-movie flashback sequence, it becomes a pretty tight, fast-paced narrative.

[Gwangi]

Never realized we created a brand new game - Kaiju movie that was released to one's date of birth (or close to it!)

Gamera seems to be in my blood. Not only was "Gamera vs. Viras" released 11 days before I was born, but the original Gamera was released on Nov. 27th, 1965, the very day my folks got married!

I have the blu-ray of "G vs. V" , but, I have actually never seen it. I will play it but mute it, and play the AIP DVD on my computer to sync the dub!

[O.Supreme]

[Specium Ray]

The AIP dub is better? What are the differences?

[Gwangi]

[H-Man]

The biggest difference between the Japanese and foreign versions of Gamera vs. Viras is in the early stock footage montage. The original Japanese version runs ~72 minutes, and obviously the montage is really short. Daiei padded the runtime for overseas export by adding around 18 minutes to the montage; this is what AIP released as Destroy All Planets (90 minutes). The current video versions are a compromise, with a runtime of about 81 minutes.

[Benjamin Haines]

That 90-minute Destroy All Planets version was how I first saw this movie, on a poor-quality bargain bin DVD. I was already a teenager at that point and it really bored me. I found a new appreciation for the Showa Gamera films thanks to Shout! Factory's DVDs but Gamera vs. Viras still isn't one I watch very often. Maybe I would like it more if it had a Hong Kong dub with the same voice actors as Barugon and Gyaos, or if it had been featured on MST3K.


I was born in the year of Godzilla vs. Biollante, Batman, Back to the Future II, The Little Mermaid, and Lawrence of Arabia (re-issue).


Congrats on hitting 50, Gwangi! What better way to mark the occasion than with martial arts, black spandex, and a gratuitous motorcycle chase?

[Gwangi]

[lhb412]

[eabaker]

I was born the day Love at First Bite was released!

[Gwangi]

Well, I just checked the movie release dates on the year I was born (for the U.S.). . Anyone can check according to their year.

Found out that "2001: A Space Odyssey" was released two days after I came to this world. So Gamera just ahead of me, while Kubrick's movie right behind me. Its no wonder I fell in love with sci-fi movies!

[Enshohma]

Long time since I've been here but, while on the subject of GAMERA VS. VIRAS, a group of talented fans did a feature length fan-made episode of MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 featuring said film. It's surprisingly good and can be found viewed on YouTube in the following link: